Spray nozzle with valved whirl plunger



Aug. l5, 1950 R. G. PULVER SPRAY NOZZLE WITH VALVED WHIRL PLUNGER Filed Sept. 5. 1946 Patented ug. 15, 1950 SPRAY NOZZLE WITH VALVED WHIRL PLUNGER Roy G. Pulver, Lansing, Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application September 5, 1946, Serial No. 694,846

1 Claim.

This invention relates to spray guns operating under relatively high pressure, and is particularly useful in improving the spray gun disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent to H. C. Stockdale, No. 2,362,946, issued November 14, 1944.

The Stockdale gun is widely used in ghting fires by the fog method. This gun handles liquid at pressures in excess of 600 pounds per square inch. It projects this liquid 60 to 100 feet in the form of a fine fog which is very eiective in blanketing and putting out fires.

The nozzle of the Stockdale gun has a liquid whirl chamber in which the liquid is whirled and thus broken up before it is discharged through a spray ori-ce. The character of the spray is controlled manually by axially shifting a so-called whirl plunger, located inside the barrel, to extend thisI varying distances into the whirl chamber. The nozzle and. Whirl plunger have mating seats so that when the whirl plunger is extended as far as it will go into the whirl chamber, the plunger will plug the mouth of this chamber and shut oi a flow of liquid into this.

The Stockdale gun has a separate shut-off valve for controlling the admission of liquid to the barrel, and two grips on which the right and left hands are applied in holding the gun. One oi these grips is adapted to be held and manipulated by one hand to actuate the spray control. The

other grip is adapted to be held and manipulated by the other hand to control the shut-off valve.

It has been found that sometimes, in the effort to get a iine spray with the Stockdale gun, the Whirl plunger is extended forward to the point where it plugs the mouth of the whirl plunger. The tremendous pressure of the liquid filling the barrel then makes it diflicult for the operator to withdraw the Whirl plunger from the whirl chamber so as to resume the formation of a spray It might be noted that this locking of the whirl plunger by the presence of liquid under high pressure in the barrel is not relieved by operating the shut-oli valve to shut oi the supply of liquid under high pressure coming from the pump. The body of liquid trapped in the barrel when the shut-ori valve is closed still operates to lock the Whirl plunger in plugging relation with the whirl chamber.

It is an object of this invention to provide a spray gun of the general type of the Stockdale gun in which the whirl plunger may not be liquid locked in plugging relation with the whirl chamber.

As reghting must be carried on in all kinds of Weather, it has been found necessary to fight res with the Stockdale gun at temperatures 4far below freezing. There are always pauses in such reiighting operations when it is desired to save the limited supply of water available, and this is normally done by actuating the cut-ofi on the gun to stop the supply of water thereto. In such intervals, however, the water in the gun barrel frequently freezes, thereby rendering the gun inoperative until it has been thawed out.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a spray gun of the general type of the Stockdale gun, the ow of water through which, except for a negligible discharge, can be shut off during intervals in nre-fighting operations in extremely cold weather Without the gun icing up.

After a re has been brought under control by the fog method, there are numerous smoldering embers which must be extinguished individually. The main object of the fog method being to completely extinguish the re with a relatively small amount of water and thereby prevent any more damage than necessary to the property involved, some means has been sought to extinguish these smoldering embers without having to use as much water as would be discharged by the Stockdale gun, even when the whirl plunger is adjusted to produce a spray of minimum volume.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a spray gun of the general type of the Stockdale gun from which a spray may be delivered which is suitable for extinguishing smoldering embers remaining after a fire has been brought under control, which spray will use only a small fraction of the amount of water olischarged in the smallest spray which could be produced by a partial withdrawal of the whirl plunger from the nozzle of the gun.

When the spray control on the Stockdale gun is adjusted to produce a relatively wide-angled,

.f fine cone of spray, the particles in an axial portion of this cone are less dense than in the balance of the cone.

It is an object of my invention to provide a spray gun of the general type of the Stockdale i gun which will produce a wide-angled cone of spray of substantially uniform density.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the spray gun of my invention, with the whirl plunger thereof shown in its forwardmost position in plugging vrelation with Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the:

whirl plunger withdrawn rearwardly at a sl-ight distance from the whirl chamber to cause thedischarge from the nozzle of the gun of a uniformly dense wide-angled cone of spray.l

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the invention is there shown as preferably embodied. in

a spray gun I6 which includes a butt member l having a pistol grip l2 to assist in supporting and' controlling the gun. Formed in the butt member It is' a liquid passage i3, there being a hose connection i4, at the outer end of this for connecting a hose to the gun. Also provided in the butt member H to control the passage r3 is a shut-oif valve lincluding a ball I6` which is urged against a: seat Ilj by a pressure springA I8, and is adapted to be lifted' from this seat by a valvestern I'Q'which entersA the passage P3' through a stuffing box'2'0;

The pistol grip' r2' is hollow and has pins 25 and 26; Mounted' pivotally on the pinl 25- within the grip lf2." is a trigger 30", from which a latch' arm 3li extends upward. TheA trigger 3i!` also has an adjustable screw tappet 32E for contactingA the valve stem I9;

Pivotally mounted on the pin 26 isa latch 34 having a hook which is adapted to be manually hooked over the arm' 3|; when the trigger 30 is compressed by the fingers of the hand holding the pistol grip' I'2, so as to hold the valve l5 open when the trigger is released;

The latch 34 isV urged into the position in which it is shown infull lines in Fig. 1 by a coil spring 36. Thus after trigger 3l)4 is compressed to open theV valve l5, and while it is heldin that position, if the latch 34 then' be manually rocked to' extend the hook 35 downwardlyj behind the arm 3|, and the trigger 3U released", the latch 34 will hold the'v trigger' compressed position with the valve l 5open1 In order to release trigger 3U from the latch 34, it is only necessary to squeeze the trigger 30 slightly to release the hook 35 from the arm 3|, whereupon the spring 36 returns the latch 34 to its full lin'e position with respect to the trigger 3D; When pressure of the fingers on the trigger 30 is now released, theV spring I8 closes the valve l5 and returns the trigger 30 to its full lin'e position.

The spray gun l!)` also includes a primary barrel 40 and' a secondary barrel 4T, adjacent ends of which are connected in offset relation by an adapter 42.

The adapter 42 has a stuffing box 43 which is concentric with the barrel 4|, It also provides a safety sprinkler 44, Vincluding a threaded valve socket 45 which is connected by a hole 46' with the interior of the adapter. A ball 41 is held against a seat formed about the outer end of hole 46, by a whirl plunger 48 confined by a sprinkler head 49 screwed downwardly into the socket 45.

The safety sprinkler 44v is adapted to be operated by rotation of the sprinkler head 49 to emit a spray which protects the face and shoulders view taken on the' 4 of the fireman operating the spray gun l0. It is the subject of a separate application, led October l, 1946, Ser. No. 700,361, co-pending herewit-h, and reference is had to said application for a full disclosure of the structure and operation of this sprinkler.

The primary' barrel Nl is secured to the butt member Il so as to communicate with the fluid passage i3. Provided on the barrel 4D is a stop ring 54, there being a manual control sleeve 55 rotatably mounted on the barrel 40 between the ring 54 and the butt member Il, The sleeve 55 includes a cylindrical tube 56, which is covered by a rubber grip 51. The sleeve 55 also includes a cylindricalV cam 58, in which a carn groove 59 is formed, and which is united with the tube 56 so that the caml may be rotated by manually rotating the tube.

The secondary barrel 4l has a nozzle 60 screwed into its front end. This nozzle has a liquid whirl chamber 6`*|V whichis of smaller diameter than the interior' of? the-barrel 4l, and a beveled seat 62, provided on the inner end' ofthe nozzle 60, extends from the chamber 6|- to the bore of the barrel 4 I. The chamber 6|l has a tapered forward end which terminates in anarrow opening 63. The nozzle 691 hasA athreaded nipple 64 onto which a bonnet 65 is screwedY toY retain an orifice disc 66" and:` a packing washer 6l' pressed tightly against the extremity of the nozzle 6D'. The disc 66 has a spray dischargeorificeY 68 throughr which liquid passing through the gun I0 is discharged.

Longitudinally slidable within the secondary barrel' 4 l, and' centered .by the interior surface of said barrel, is a liquid control device G6, This device includes a shaft I6 which extends slidably through the stufling box 43., The front end of this shaft screws into the counter bore lila of an axial hole ll ofi a whirl plunger 12, having an expanding frusto-coni'cal outer surface 13 which joins a counter-frusto-conical surface 14, the inner edge of which terminates at a tubular whirl sleeve 'l5y extending forwardly from the plunger 1.2. This sleeve has formed therein. a series of slots` i6, the latter lying in planes, which are parallel with the axis of the barrel 4|-, and spaced equi-distant from said axis so that said slots 16 have av spiral relation` to the axis of the barrel.

The sleeve .15 slidably fits into the whirl charnber 6Iy when the plunger T2 is shifted toward the nozzle 60. The mouth of Ythis chamber is plugged by the plunger l2 when the latter, has been thus advanced to thel point where the surface I4 comes into; contact withtheV beveled nozzle seat 62, as shown? in Figs. 1 and 2.`

Provided to pass diametrically inwardly into the axial hole 'H of the-whirl plunger 'l2 are holes 18. Extending axially forwardly from the hole 1I is a hole T8 which opens into the interior of the tubular whirl sleeve T5, and is, of course, coaxialr with this andy with the spray orifice 68.

Also included in the liquid guide and control device 68 is a spider sleeve 86y having a series of guide fins 81A which extend radially outwardly to slidably engage the inner surface` of the secondary barrel 4l. The spider 80 is riveted fast on the shaft 1l by a pin 82.

Mounted between nuts 84 and 85 on the rearwardly extending end of the shaft 'H is a cam follower yoke 86' which threadedly extends into the cam groove 591 of the cylindrical cam 58 so that rotation of the manual control sleeve 55 shifts the control device 69 longitudinally in the barrel 4 l.

Operation To prepare the gun In for operating the same, a hose leading from a high pressure liquid pump is first attached to the hose connection I4. Supposing the operator is right-handed, he carries the gun in his two hands by holding the pistol grip I2 in his right hand, and the manual control sleeve 55 in his left hand.

Without removing eitherl of his hands from the gun, the operator is able to open or shut the shut-off valve I5 by clenching or relaxing the fingers of his right hand on the trigger 30, or he is able, by rotation of the sleeve 55 with his left hand, to shift the whirl plunger 'I2 so as to withdraw this entirely from the Whirl chamber 6I or to extend it varying distances into the whirl chamber.

When the whirl plunger 'I2 is withdrawn entirely from the whirl chamber 6I, a rod-like stream of highly condensed spray is discharged through the spray orifice 68 which travels a relatively long distance from the gun before it breaks up and scatters in the air. The present invention has no effect on the operation of the gun in discharging this type of stream.

The objects of the present invention relate to operation of the gun I9 when the whirl sleeve is partially or entirely extended into the whirl chamber, and these objects are accomplished by the holes 1I, 18 and 'I9 which provide a liquid escape passage through the whirl plunger l2. For instance, when the valve I5 is held open and the sleeve 55 is rotated to shift the Whirl plunger 'I2 forwardly into the position in which it plugs the mouth of the whirl chamber 6I, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the pressure of the liquid in barrel 4I against the frusto-conioal surface I3 of the whirl plunger renders it difficult to withdraw this plunger from plugging relation with the whirl chamber 6 I, the operator needs merely to close the shut-off valve I5, whereupon the pressure of the liquid in the barrel 4I immediately decreases to atmospheric pressure by leakage of a small amount of water through the passage formed by holes 1I, 18 and 19. Upon this relief of pressure taking place in the barrel 4I, the plunger 'I2 may be easily withdrawn rearwardly by rotation of the sleeve 55, and the operation of the gun resumed by re-opening the valve I5.

When the whirl plunger 'I2 is run forward into plugging relation with the whirl chamber 6I, and the valve I5 held open, the water escaping through the passage II-'I8-19 is discharged outwardly through the orice 68 in the form of a coarse spray 89, as shown in Fig. 2. This spray has been found very effective and adequate in the extinguishing of smoldering embers, which customarily remain to be put out individually after the main blaze of a re is brought under control, as said spray, being discharged without velocity of consequence, does not blow said embers around.

When wide open, the gun I delivers water at a rate of approximately 30 gallons a minute. The coarse spray produced with the adjustment shown in Fig. 2 uses only two or three gallons of water a minute. When iighting lires in subfreezing temperatures, freezing of the gun I0 of my invention may be avoided by adjusting the whirl plunger 'I2 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and locking the valve I open Whenever it is necessary to temporarily suspend operation of the gun I0 at its normal capacity.

The ilow of Water from the barrel 4I through the passage 7I-l8-19 during these intervals is suicient to prevent the freezing of the water in the barrel 4I, yet it constitutes a negligible amount to spend for the assurance that the gun will not freeze but will remain in readiness, to be instantly adjusted and go into action at any desired capacity.

When the whirl plunger 'I2 is positioned with the whirl sleeve 'I5 extending partially into the whirl chamber 6I, as shown in Fig. 3, a more or less wide-angled cone of spray 99 is delivered from' the nozzle of the gun. In former guns of this type, preceding the present invention, a similar cone of spray could be formed, but the spray particles in a central axial space 9| of the cone would be relatively sparse.

In the gun I0 of my invention the cone of spray 9D produced by the adjustment shown in Fig. 3 is relatively uniform in density as the water passing through the passage 'II-18-19 of the whirl plunger 'I2 is broken up into fine particles by contact with the Water delivered tangentially inwardly through the slots 16, and results in a substantial increase in the density of the water particles in the axial space 9I of the cone of spray 90.

I claim:

In a spray gun the combination of: a barrel adapted to be connected to a source of liquid under high pressure; a nozzle provided on the discharge end of said barrel, said nozzle having a whirl chamber and a discharge orice opening axially therefrom; and a whirl plunger manually shiftable axially in said barrel and including a sleeve having spirally disposed liquid guiding surfaces and optionally extensible into said chamber to close the space between said plunger and said nozzle or to produce the emission from said orice of a hollow cone of whirling spray varying in volume and force, said whirl plunger having a passage opening axially into said chamber and communicating with the inside of said barrel to receive liquid from the latter and discharge the same axially into said chamber and through said discharge orifice to form a solid cone of spray within said hollow cone, said solid cone of spray continuing to be discharged as aforesaid when said Whirl plunger is in closed position and said hollow cone of spray is thus shut off.

ROY G. PULVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 484,074 Wilgus Oct. 11, 1892 530,620 Maher Dec. l1, 1894 627,623 McCoy June 27, 1899 821,859 Clegg May 29, 1906 1,562,957 Hamilton Nov. 24, 1925 1,764,181 Raetz et al June 17, 1930 2,047,750 Smith July 14, 1936 2,347,755 Spreng May 2, 1944 2,362,946 Stockdale Nov. 14, 1944 2,415,794 Keep Feb. 11, 1947 2,416,719 Stockdale May 4, 1947 

